Terrible Things
by CaptainPumpkinPie
Summary: J.D. listens to a song with his son after the funeral of someone he loved


_Italics =Flashback_

**Bold = Song lyrics**

The Song is "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade

J.D. was weary and exhausted when he finally reached his apartment, his two-month-old son Adam gurgling contentedly against his shoulder. The baby boy spit up on J.D.'s suit. He didn't really care; the tux just took his mind to the funeral they'd just left, like he needed a reminder.

Setting Adam down in his bouncy chair, J.D. tossed his soiled jacket on the couch and made his way to the fridge. He weighed a bottle of baby formula in his palm until his son's agitated cries ripped him into reality. J.D. nudged the fridge closed and skirted around the kitchen island, perching on the edge of the coffee table in front of Adam. The boy pounded his fists on the rim of his chair.

"Okay, okay," J.D. said tiredly. He carefully held the bottle to his son's mouth. They went through half of it before Adam spit milky goo on his father's shirt. J.D. ignored this, then stowed the formula back in the fridge. He was doubling back to pick up his son when he noticed the old iPod stereo on the counter. It was hiding in the shadow of the counter above it, the iPod's screen black.

And then he realized it was _her _iPod, sending a pulse of the sadness he'd been repressing all night through him. Curiosity and longing guided his finger to the "Hold" switch at the top. The screen flared to life, showing the last song she'd been listening to before…

Unable to finish the thought, J.D. grabbed Adam from his chair and set him on the counter next to the stereo. The tired man thumbed the "Play" button and listened, realizing the song fit his situation eerily.

**By the time I was your age  
>I'd give anything<br>To fall in love truly  
>Was all I could think<br>**J.D. paused the flowing music. "That's not right," he murmured to his son. "When I was your age, all I thought about was eating and sleeping. Definitely not about love. Or do you have a girlfriend I don't know about?" His joking made Adam giggle, but he wasn't touched by it. He started the music again.

**That's when I met your mother  
>The girl of my dreams<br>The most beautiful woman  
>That I'd ever seen<strong>

He stopped it again. "Close, but no. I didn't meet your mother until I was 26. They're right about one thing though," he said as he bounced Adam playfully, "She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen…" **  
>She said "Boy, can I tell you a wonderful thing?<br>I can't help but notice you staring at me  
>I know I shouldn't say this, but I really believe,<br>I can tell by your eyes that you're in love with me."  
><strong>"It didn't really happen like that," J.D. disagreed. "It was a long hard road. We messed up a lot, buddy, but we got there in the end, right?"**  
>Now son, I'm only telling you this<br>Because life, can do terrible things  
><strong>J.D. couldn't say anything in response. He was remembering the next lines of the song before they played, braced for the double truth.**  
>Now most of the time<br>We'd have too much to drink  
>And laugh at the stars<br>And we'd share everything  
><strong>Adam kicked his feet. "We didn't drink that much," J.D. mused. "But we always told each other everything. Even ―"

Then a memory slammed into his head before he could finish the sentence.

_They were in their living room, on the couch, two-week old Adam in Elliot's arms. It was quiet besides the sound of soft breathing. They were both preoccupied with their own thoughts in the dark room. _

"_Elliot?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_What are you thinking about?" J.D. looked down at her and their son. _

_She looked torn, biting her lip. "It's that…at the hospital, I…Never mind. It's nothing."_

_J.D. didn't want to ruin the peaceful atmosphere, so he let it go and wrapped his arms securely around his family. _

**Too young to notice  
>And too dumb to care<br>Love was a story  
>That couldn't compare<strong>

J.D. sighed. "We were pretty dumb." He looked into Adam's eyes, true-blue like Elliot's, not ice-blue like his. **  
>I said "Girl, can I tell you a wonderful thing?<br>I made you a present with paper and string  
>Open with care now, I'm asking you please<br>You know that I love you  
>Will you marry me?"<strong>

J.D. swallowed what he was going to say to his son. He fought back tears he hadn't known he had, thinking of when he proposed.**  
><strong>_Adam was one month old. They had taken him to the hospital, since no one could babysit and they both had shifts. At noon, J.D. and Elliot were both in the nearly-empty doctor's lounge, fussing over their son playfully. J.D. waited until the last surgeon had left to ask her._

"_We need to talk." He retrieved the ring box fluidly from his pocket and opened it. Getting down on his knee, he held it out grandly. "Eliot Reid. I've been crazy about you since we first met, and now, there are only two things I need to get up in the morning: You and our son. Will you marry me?" It wasn't the most romantic proposal in the world, but for him, it was heartfelt. _

_J.D. patiently waited until she smiled. When he slipped the ring on her finger, her eyes welled up with tears. At the time, J.D. thought they were tears of joy. But they were something else entirely. _

**Now son, I'm only telling you this  
>Because life, can do terrible things<br>You'll learn one day  
>I hope and I pray that God shows you differently<br>**"I really do," the father told his son. **  
>She said "Boy, can I tell you a terrible thing?<br>It seems that I'm sick and I've only got weeks  
>Please don't be sad now, I really believe<br>You were the greatest thing that ever happened to me."  
><strong>_"J.D…" Her hands shook. "You're the light of my life. But…I'm sick. Really sick."_

"Creepy how spot on this song is," J.D. whispered to his son.**  
>Slow, so slow, I fell to the ground on my knees<strong>

"I was already on my knees." J.D. twisted Adam's dark hair to look like his father. It made him smile, for a second. But he was still listening.**  
>So don't fall in love<br>There's just too much to lose  
>If you're given the choice<br>I'm begging you choose  
>To walk away, walk away<br>Don't let it get you  
>I can't bear to see the same happen to you<br>**

**Now son, I'm only telling you this  
>Because life, can do terrible things<strong>

"You bet it can," J.D. agreed, a tear finally escaping his careful composure. He scooped up his son and looked for Adam's pajamas. He couldn't stand to see the boy dressed for his own mother's funeral.


End file.
